Three new eldos, third eldo Prize

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el dorado is pleased to announce that Barrett Peterson, Alex Priest, and Tiffin Thompson have joined our team of architects, designers, curators, and fabricators. They have all moved to Kansas City from Des Moines, Omaha, and St. Louis respectively. We also welcome Eleanor Knowles from Washington University’s Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts in St. Louis as the third recipient of the eldo Prize who will start in early May.

Barrett PetersonJoining us from Des Moines as a Project Designer, Barrett is passionate about design at multiple scales—from city planning to his hobby of furniture design—and brings an enthusiasm for research and hands-on work to el dorado. Barrett attended Iowa State University for undergraduate studies in Community and Regional Planning and a Masters in Architecture. As a graduate student, he was a research assistant investigating and documenting the building technqiues behind moderninst works suchs as Saarinen’s Kresge Auditoriaum and Dulles Airport Terminal. While at BNIM for the last three years, Barrett completed work at the University of Iowa including Semans Center, the College of Nursing renovation, the Psychological and Brain Sciences Building, and the Museum of Art. In Kansas City, he is looking forward to catching indie-rock shows and continuing his devotion to Liverpool FC.

Alex PriestWith the increase of curatorial projects el dorado is working on across the globe, we brought on Alex as the Public Engagement, Marketing, and Curatorial Manager. Alex grew up in rural Iowa and attended Iowa State University for Landscape Architecture focusing on architectural theory and art history. He also studied in the Czech Republic and in Amsterdam. Before joining el dorado, Alex was the Exhibitions Manager at Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts for six years and simultaneously the volunteer curator at the Omaha Public Library for five. He has a passion for public engagement and curating within the public realm and at a civic scale. As a curator at Bemis Center, he commissioned a performance by LA-based artist Cassils titled Monument Push, addressing place-based concerns of unseen trauma against the LGBTQIA+ population of Omaha. As a new transplant to Kansas City, he looks forward to extending his research in archiving the intersection of gender, athletics, and the built environment in and through his work at el dorado.

Tiffin ThompsonTiffin joins the el dorado team as a Project Designer bringing an extensive knowledge in architecture, historic preservation, science, and publishing. Tiffin attended the College of William and Mary for undergraduate studies; also studying in Egypt and Turkey. After this, she worked at National Geographic’s book department. A highlight from this time was asking Neil Degrasse Tyson to write the introduction for a book on the Hubble Space Telescope—he said yes. Prior to architecture, she earned a Master’s of Historic Preservation at the University of Pennsylvania. Through researching material science and conservation of buildings, her thesis focused on the conservation of the oldest known mosaic in the world located in Gordion, Turkey (where King Midas lived). She was most recently in St. Louis, Missouri where she worked at the interdisciplinary design firm CannonDesign, and completed a degree in architecture at Washington University. During her time at Washington University, she also studied in Argentina and completed internships in New Orleans and New York City. Now in Kansas City, Tiffin is particularly interested in KC’s taquerias, free access to the arts and museums of Kansas City, as well as volunteering for Planned Parenthood and calling our senators daily.

Eleanor KnowlesWe are excited to announce Eleanor as the third recipient of the eldo Prize. The eldo prize was established in 2015 to support young architects who show clear promise in design excellence, to encourage them in the summer before their final year of study, and to reveal the joys of living and working in Kansas City. Through her essay, portfolio, and video interview, Eleanor stood out as the clear recipient of this internship. Originally from Northern California, she is completing her junior year at Washington University in St. Louis where she studies architecture and art history. She is particularly interested in architecture and design, “because of the potential these disciplines have as a way of positively affecting the communities I am a part of, and the environment I live in. I like to understand the relationships between places and people and ideas and thoughts.” We are thrilled for Eleanor to join our team where she will be working on several el dorado projects at distinct stages of development.